Andrew Eastell turned to the internet to try to track him down, creating a ‘missing’ poster of the family pet and circulating it on Facebook and Twitter.
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| More than 40 people gathered at the scene and cheered and applauded when the disappearing dog, Zak, was finally freed |
In fact, Zak had not wandered off but had fallen down a narrow, heather-covered 6ft-deep crevice yards from where he was last seen and was unable to move.
But Mr Eastell’s Facebook appeal still paid off – after another dog owner saw it and successfully took his own pet to the spot to search for Zak.
There then followed a nine-hour rescue operation in which firemen carefully drilled through the rock and eventually pulled the bedraggled dog to safety 53 hours after he vanished.
The dog was plucked - cold, wet and muddy - from the 6ft deep, 5in wide crevice in Shipley Glen, Baildon, West Yorkshire, by firefighters who had spent almost nine hours drilling through rocks to free him.
More than 40 people had gathered at the scene and cheered and applauded when the disappearing dog, Zak, was finally freed.
The 18-month-old pet had vanished at 2.30pm on New Year's Day, but lay face down in the hole undiscovered for about 47 hours.
He was eventually found at about 1pm on Thursday by a kind-hearted dog lover, Craig Pennington, and his border collie Moe.
Moments after Zak was released at 7.50pm, owner Andrew Eastell said: 'I am so enthralled to have him back - I'm ready for a beer. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped these past couple of days.'
Daughter Hettie, 17, said: 'It is absolutely amazing, I cannot thank the firemen enough. I am so relieved - it is just a dream.'
The drama began when Mr Eastell was kicking a football around with Zak and his twin sister Lola.
Mr Eastell said he turned his head briefly after kicking the ball for the dogs, but when he turned back round Zak had vanished.
Scared Zak had been pinched or fallen down a hill chasing a squirrel, Mr Eastell frantically searched the area but could not find the much-loved dog before darkness fell at about 5pm.
Desperate, Mr Eastell posted Zak's plight on Facebook, before notifying police, the dog warden and animal rescue. Pictures of Zak were also put on Baildon Veterinary Centre's Facebook page.
The centre is run by Jill Fraser, partner of Craig Pennington, who took an afternoon off work to help search for Zak.
Mr Eastell, from Baildon, said: 'After that it just took off, it was massive. It ended up all over Twitter as well.'
One of Mr Eastell's neighbours, Natalie Berry, heard what was going on and asked her partner - Keith Senior - a former Leeds Rhinos rugby league star - to post a plea to his 21,000 followers on Twitter.
But despite reported sightings, Mr Eastell was beginning to give up hope. However, he said: 'I had an inkling and went down to the Glen again, where I met Craig.'
Mr Eastell and Mr Pennington had never met before, but the latter had decided to bring his dog up to help search for Zak.
'Moe likes sniffing around,' said Mr Pennington. 'She came to the exact spot first of all, but it was just thick heather. After another look around, she came back to the same spot - she knew something was here.
'I scraped back the heather and saw the back end of a dog. I knew that if the dog was here, Moe would find it - and she did.'
Mr Eastell said: 'I am so, so grateful for all the help. I cannot put into words how brilliant people have been.'
His wife, Susan Eastell, told how Zak was a member of the family and shouted her thanks to everyone when the dog was rescued. But she added: 'We have lived around here for nearly 30 years, but never knew of these holes under the heather. It could have been a small child that fell down there.'
Watch commander Dan Gledhill, of Cleckheaton fire station, led a team of 11 firefighters in the technical rescue unit on the operation. He said: 'They were great. A good outcome is the main thing. We are relieved the dog is out successfully and it looks like it is going to be OK.'
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| Golden Labrador Zak with Mo (left) the dog that helped find him |
Zak was rushed off to the vets' for a check-up immediately after the drama.
Mr Eastell, his wife Susan and their five children thanked everyone involved in the operation, especially Mr Pennington, who refused to accept the £1,000 reward on offer for Zak’s return.
(Daily Mail - Jan 4, 2013)
